Dispensing container



March 13, 1945. I 1 JACQBSON 2,371,332

DISPESNGl CONTAINER Filed Sept. 25, 1942 W 24 ynvr/mfom l ,56 JMZS J.' JACosoN ze BY lA'rmmwsv Patented Mar. 13, 1945 This invention relates to dispensingv containers...

One object of the invention tor-provide.y a con'-l tainer which. is well adaptedto: be used instead 24v'. Said yreceptacledispireieralzily formed of a plastic;v but.v can. be formediof glass or other suitel able material.

'of collapsible metal tubes for packaging: and..dis-f pensing various substances, fcn1 rexamplatooth paste, shaving cream, other products of paste :orcrant-'like consistency',r oils on other liquids", etc., the dispensing container being further charac l terizediin. the. respect that itis provided a.

plunger for'ieiect'mg the contentsy of the recepten-'1, cle-and which f isconstruoted and' arranged to provide a iiuid-tiglzit-seal with'the inner rsurface ofthetf :receptacle without requiring' the. use of l separate packing'N ringsI or the: like..

Another object of the inventionis. tofprovide. ai dispensing container of: theabove indicated character' and:` which can `be formed of. a 'plastic whetebyf toi produce'a suitable 'an'd'advantageous dispensingK and 'packaging container Without the usefotrnetal.A l 1*' eral-ly tdiprovidean improved. dispensingfandy Ihe'albove'mentionedand other ohiects,l featureslandi advantages of thev invention will bei more iully' l'niderstoodiv Vfrom the following del ing mustrativefdrawing.

Inf the drawing:

Fig. -I' isl'avertipal sectional view of'adispens-"A ing container embodying ther present' invention;

' Fig. Zie/a viewoi'the conta tonandi partlyl in section,`y the receptaclebeing" awayr and: showing theplunger in elevatfgn; L. v

Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective *views of ltwo elenien-ts*- of thepreiferred forml of the plunger; f

Fig;`V is! a fragmentary vertical sectional view oftliecontainen. illustrating' a mediloation.I

Referring new tothe difaWi-ngin detaiflf, Ithe dis@- pen'singj container l Uli embodying the presen-t` inventibnf'comprisesia 'receptacle t2 having at 'one emi-P thereoff a; threaded neck W provided with an' outlet. openingflili -whichifisnorrnally closed by a' threaded cap |382 The inner surface-20 of tliie reeeptacl'eK 'is' preferably cylindricaland termi# nates'at'thebottozn of the-receptacle in an 'open'- ing'4 Z1 'w-Fiic'h is of thesame diameter asethat( of inner surface; Aliso; ashereishown, 'the basefurther'object of the invention isi to 'providle of. air.

y the contents of-the receptacle.

In accordance withthe present invention' the.

container is provided'with an ejector plunger for *1 dispensing 4thecontents'of the receptacle through thev outlet opening I6 thereof, Vand an. important? feature ofthe invention resides in the construc` y tion ot this. plunger'whereby it maintains a uidl tightjseal'with the inner.' surface 20 of the recepe tacle morder to prevent leakage of the contents and to `seal. the receptacle againstl the vadmission vAnother important 'feature and advantageisjthe:.construction4 of the plunger whereby'` 1 it canrhefmade of a plasticand does notrequ-irel any` packing rings orlthe 'lifke' for obtain-ing 'the' fluid-tight seal with thereeeptacle. Theplunger constructed'int accordance with the present in vvention forv accomplishing these results will rovv befdescl'ibed.

Said plunger comprisesia member 2o'lwhi`ch 'isv molded or otherwise formed' one piece cfa suitable' plastic and'whiclrcomprlses. a, central part 28' and a substantiallyV cylindrical-peripheral part y311 Which'fpreferably tapers in thickness tof ward the delivery end* `or outletfopening 'of the receptacle. Said'. parts.' 28' and i'areconnected: by a peripheral. part' 32', annular portion Stand-by' the peripheral part 36 which is offset radially inwardly fromperipheral'part 30 provid'- ing the peripheral shoulder 38'. Thus parts "Z8, and 3l) arey spaced :fromeach'other radially of the plunger:v andr are connected to each other by means" constituted by parts 32, 36 and" y3'61. It will be understood that the upperv surface of memberk 26 formera completey barrier tothe passage ofv Part 30 has a; sliding fit within-ner suria'c'e 2U of the receptacleandt'he construction of mem# bei'. 26. as above described' and' asf'presently toibo further vdescribed is suchI that; said part aftFformsA a fluid-tight sealv with the innerv surface 2U'ofth`e" receptacle whereby to prevent leakage of the' con-A tentsf oli the:receptaclel lvetweenl part 30' andi the adjacent surface 20 ofthe receptacleduring `the dispensingl operation' of' the plunger and 'at all other ti-msr. For thispurpose: the closetjetween part4 30? and the innensufrface 20 of there-Y ceptacl'e is-mfaintained and augmented* during v the' dispensing operatonby' constructing member eter in response. to a: force exerted on said'part for moving the. plunger inits dispensing oper,-

ation'. More partcularly,l asY here showngupart 28" is 'of concavdhconvex form, uppersurfaee being concave and its lower surface being convex, so that when a force is applied at the center of said convex surface in a direction axially of the receptacle and toward the delivery end thereof, said part 28 becomes increasingly flatter, thus increasing in diameter or expanding radially outwardly whereby its periphery is moved radially toward inner surface of the receptacle and forcing peripheral part more tightly against said inner surface of the receptacle by reason of the connection of said part 30 with part 28 through parts 32, 34 and 36. It will be understood that only a slight increase in the diameter -of part 28 is required and that due to the fact that the expansive force of part 30 is communicated thereto continuously therearound by the portions 32, 34 and 36, peripheral part 30 is caused to engage inner surface 28 of the receptacle as tightly as may be necessary to maintain a leakproof joint between part 30 and the inner surface of the receptacle. However, it will be understood that due to the force exerted on the.

contents of the receptacle by member v26 during the dispensing operation, a force is exerted by the contents on the inner surface' of the tapering portion of part 30 transversely and aids in maintaining said leakproof joint. Peripheral parts 30 and 32 being formed of plastidtogether with the other portions of member 26, is sufficiently stretchable in response to the increase in diameter of part 28 whereby to enable the above described action to take place, it being understood, however, that said plastic is noneelastic and for that reason any slight inwardly radial movement of part 30 which might possibly occur following the release offpressure from the center of the convex surface of part 28 on the completion cf the dispensing operation does not limpair the duid-tight seal of part 36with the inner surface of the receptacle, especially since at that time the pressure exerted upon the contents of the receptacle is simultaneously released. Y

Provision is made for facilitating the operation of member 26, both in applying the force on part 28 for expanding the latter and for moving part 26 longitudinally of the receptacle toward outlet opening I6 in the dispensing operation of the plunger. For this purpose a stem 40 is connected to part 28 of member 26 and extends downwardly therefrom. More particularly, as here shown, stem 40 is provided with a reduced end portion 42 which ts within a central opening 44 in part 28, being tightly secured therein, and the peripheral shoulder 46 formed near the end of said stem abuts the central portion of the convex surface of part 28. Said stem 40 is, as here shown, fixed to a piston member 48 centrally of the piston head 50. Said piston member 48 is provided with acontinuous upwardly directed peripheral part 52 which has a sliding engagement with the inner surface 20 of the receptacle. Piston member 48 and stem 40 arealso preferably formed of aplastic. Y

It will be understood that when it is desired to dispense the contents of the container through outlet opening I6 of the receptacle, one or more fingers of the user may be projected' through opening 22 of the receptacle for pressing on the head 50 of piston member 48 and that this force is communicated by stem 40 to the disk or part 28 of plunger member 26, causing said part 28 to expand in size radially outwardly to the extent permitted by the engagement of peripheral part 30 with surface `2l! of the receptacle-and substantially simultaneously causing plunger member 26 to move longitudinally of the receptacle toward the outlet opening I6 thereof. The relative longitudinal movement which might occur between plunger members 26 and 48 is limited by the initial space provided between shoulder 38 and the upper edge of peripheral part 52. Further, said space may receive any small quantity of the contents of the receptacle which might possibly pass between part 38 and the inner surface of the receptacle, thereby forming an additional seal to afford added protection to the contents of the receptacle against the admission of air. It will be noted further that the peripheral part 52 of plunger 48 and the peripheral part 30 of plunger member 26 form a structure of sufcient axial extent to prevent canting or tilting of the plunger in the receptacle, even when pressure is applied to the piston head at a point spaced from the center thereof. Further in this connection it will be noted that the upper portion of peripheral part 52 of member 48 overlaps the outer surface of part 36 of member 26` and is spaced slightly radially outwardly of part y 36`of member 26.

The dispensing container of the present invention can be readily converted into a spraying device. This can be easily accomplished by attaching to neck I4 any suitable spraying nozzle or head (not shown) through which a. liquid contained in receptacle I2 can be forced under pres` sure by operation of the ejector plunger. It will be understood that the spraying nozzle or head. can be attached to the neck i4 of the containery by screwing the nozzle or head onto the neck when closure cap i4is removed. r

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 5, the dispensing container and plungerare'- substantially as described above, with theexcep-' tion that the stem 48A which corresponds'to1= the stem 40 and has the same functionas the latter, is hollow or tubular and is provided with an extensible rod 54 which is in threadeden-l gagement in said hollow stem 40A. The outer end of rod 54 is provided with a head 56 for. rotatingr said rod. By the construction thus-provided, and more particularly by means of the threaded engagement of rod 54 in stem 40A, head 56 can be positioned near enough to opening l22` of the receptacle to facilitatemcvement'ofithe plunger by the user, especially when the'contentsi of the receptacle approaches depletion. It will be understood that the screw thread of rod 54 has a low pitch whereby to reduce as much as possible the turning of said rod for moving head 56 thereof in a direction toward opening 22.

It will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise than as herein shown or de scribed. Accordingly, I do not wish to be limited to the specic construction herein ydisclosed except to the extent which may be required bythe scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, whatl claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A dispensing container comprising a recepf tacle having an outlet opening, and an ejector plunger mounted for sliding movement in said receptacle toward said opening for dispensing the contents of the receptacle through said opening, said plunger comprising a substantially cylindrical peripheral part in slidable, fluid-tight engagement with the inner wall of said receptacle, a central part spaced radially inwardlyVv of.; said peripheral part, said central part being exe pansible in diameter in response to a force exerted thereon for moving the plunger toward said' opening, and means connecting said central part to said peripheral part and movable radially toward said inner wall -by the expansion of said central part for forcing said peripheral part raf dially against the inner surface of said receptacle, continuouslytherearound, during the dispensing movement of said plunger, and a piston member operatively connected to-said centrale part for expanding the same and havinga cylindrical part in sliding engagementlvvith said inner wall.

2. A dispensing container comprising a recep-f,y

tacle having an outlet opening, andan ejector plunger mounted for sliding movement in said receptacle toward said opening for dispensingthe contents of the receptacle through said opening, said plunger comprising a substantially cylindrical peripheral part in slidable fluid-tight ening the dispensing movement of said plunger,

and means connected to said central part for expanding the same radially and for moving the same toward said opening, saicllast Vmentioned means comprising a member having av substantially cylindrical peripheral part in sliding enf gagement with said inner wall ofthe receptacle.

3. A dispensing container comprising a-receptacle having an outlet opening, andan ejector plunger mounted for sliding movement in said receptacle toward said opening for dispensing the contents ofthe receptacle through said opening, said plunger comprising a substantiallycylindrical peripheral part in slidable duid-tight engagement withvthe inner wall of said receptacle, a

central part expansible in diameter in response vtoy a force exerted axially thereon for moving the plunger toward said opening andv connected to y saidcylindrical peripheral part for forcing'the latter radially against the inner wall of said receptacle, continuously therearound, during the dispensing movement 'of said plunger, and a piston member operatively connected to said centraly part for expanding the same and having a cylindrical part in sliding engagement with said inner wall. 'v .l

4. A dispensing container comprising a receptacle having-an outlet opening, and an ejector f plunger mounted for sliding movement vin ,said

receptacle toward said opening for dispensing the contents of the receptacle through said opening, said plunger comprising a peripheral part in slidableliiui'd-tight.engagement with the inner wall v of said receptacle, a central part spaced radially inwardly of said'peripheral part, saidy central,l part beingconcavo-convex whereby it isexpansible in diameter invresponse to a force exerted thereon for moving the plunger toward, saidy opening, means connecting said central part 'to said peripheral part and movable radially to- -Ward `said inner wall by the expansion of said central part `for lforcing said peripheral part radially againstthe inner surface of said receptacle, continuously therearound, during the dispensing movement of saidvplunger, a stem engaging said central part and extending axially "of said receptacle and operable therein for ap-y plying said force to said central part, and a piston member operatively connected to said stem and slidably'engaging said receptaclasaid pisn ton member having a-limited movement inl relation to the peripheral part and engageable therewith kto limit the vexpansion of saidcentral part by said stem. l a f JAMES J. JACOBSON. 

